Analysis-China's criticism of Hutchison ports deal raises stakes for TikTok US sale

(Reuters) - Beijing's criticism of Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison's ( CKHUF ) move to sell its ports business is a precursor to heightened political scrutiny of major Chinese business divestments involving American buyers, analysts say.

The criticism of the deal, including the sale of assets near the Panama Canal to a BlackRock-led consortium, will, in particular, sharpen the scrutiny of a possible sale of the U.S. assets of TikTok, owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, they added.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who previously criticised what he perceived as Chinese control of the Panama Canal, hailed the deal, terming it the "reclaiming" of the canal within hours of the transaction's announcement on March 4.

A week after that news, China's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office reposted two commentaries criticising CK Hutchison ( CKHUF ) and saying the sale was a betrayal of China that neglected national interests.

Chinese regulators, under the instructions of central leadership, have begun looking into the deal, said one source with knowledge of the matter, a sign of Beijing's discontent with CK Hutchison's ( CKHUF ) divestment under perceived U.S. pressure.

The person declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter. China's State Council Information Office (SCIO), which handles media queries on behalf of the Chinese government, did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. 

CK Hutchison ( CKHUF ) also did not respond. Bloomberg first reported the development on Tuesday.

In its earnings statement on Thursday, CK Hutchison ( CKHUF ) made no mention of the ports deal, although it said that "geopolitical and trade tensions have ... risen significantly."

The heavy politicisation of the CK Hutchison ( CKHUF ) deal and the sale of TikTok's U.S. business are set to cast a long shadow over deals involving Chinese and American companies amid growing tensions between the world's two largest economies.

"Beijing is balancing multiple priorities - it's trying to project a strong stance against U.S. pressure while ensuring it does not appear weak, particularly in the eyes of its domestic audience," said Patricia M. Kim, a U.S.-China relations expert and a fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Kim said the scrutiny of the CK Hutchison ( CKHUF ) deal was part of Beijing's broader strategy to "adopt a more combative tone" toward the United States after unveiling countermeasures in response to trade actions by the Trump administration.

"Beijing's ultimate decision on whether to complicate the port transaction or others like the TikTok deal will likely hinge on its assessment of whether a trade deal with the Trump administration remains viable," Kim said.

Chinese officials have indicated to ByteDance executives in recent months that Beijing doesn't want the company to be forced to sell control of the app to U.S. investors, another source with knowledge of the matter said.

The SCIO, ByteDance, and TikTok did not respond to Reuters' request for comment on the matter.

'DAMAGING IMPLICATIONS'

Beijing's unprecedented criticism of CK Hutchison's ( CKHUF ) Panama withdrawal came after the deal angered President Xi Jinping, partly because the company didn't seek Beijing's approval, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources, on Tuesday. 

Chinese leadership had planned to use the Panama port issue as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the Trump administration, only to be taken by surprise by the sale, according to the Journal.

Since Trump took office, Beijing has tried to walk a careful line, countering U.S. tariffs with its own measures while leaving the door open for talks on a bigger deal that would ease tensions.

That could include approval for asset sales such as TikTok if it was part of a more sweeping set of agreements to reset relations between the two countries, officials have said privately.

Although some analysts say China's regulatory reach over the CK Hutchison ( CKHUF ) deal is limited, as none of the ports being sold are in China or Hong Kong, some legal experts say Beijing could still review the transaction.

Popular short-video app TikTok, meanwhile, facing shutdown in the United States next month if Chinese owner ByteDance does not find a U.S. buyer, must grapple with concerns about its autonomy from ByteDance and the Chinese government.

In the TikTok sale process, the White House is playing an unprecedented role - acting as an investment bank, with Vice President JD Vance running the auction. This marks a significant increase in government intervention in private business matters.

In contrast to CK Hutchison ( CKHUF ), ByteDance is heavily reliant on its home market, with business operations spanning video streaming, news aggregation, e-commerce and artificial intelligence.

Also, the Chinese government owns 1% of one of ByteDance's main subsidiaries - Beijing Douyin Information Service Ltd, through a "golden share," as explained by TikTok in a letter to U.S. senators in 2022.

The criticism of the Hutchison ports deal has made it clear if ByteDance were to accept any forced sale of TikTok without Beijing's consent, it could face not only regulatory challenges but also political resistance from Beijing, analysts said.

"There is a more realistic possibility that the ByteDance matter will eventually form part of some wider settlement," said Steve Vickers, CEO of Steve Vickers and Associates, a specialist political and corporate risk consultancy.

"Companies, large and small alike, should be mindful that this (Panama) case has severely damaging implications, which will translate into tangible business risk in Greater China, Asia and around the world," he said.

(Reporting by Hong Kong and Beijing Newsrooms, Saeed Azhar in New York, Scott Murdoch in Sydney; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Gerry Doyle)